Timing mechanisms have been utilized for decades in the control of many different appliances. The present invention relates generally to electric dryers, and more particularly to a pushbutton hand dryer of the type commonly found in public rest rooms. With such a hand dryer, a user pushes a button or knob to start a drying cycle. During the drying cycle, a timing motor, a heater and a fan are turned on; and at the end of a drying cycle, as determined by the timing motor, the timing motor, heater and fan are automatically turned off. Such dryers must be simple, rugged and durable in construction and operate with great reliability over a long service life. To achieve such features, the hand dryer should have the fewest possible parts that operate in the simplest possible way. More particularly, it is desirable that the hand dryer timer operate through a timing cycle with the fewest number of switches and other electrical contacts and mechanical parts. A further advantage of such a design is that the resulting product will generally be less expensive to manufacture. Thus, there is a continuing effort to make pushbutton hand dryer timers simpler in construction, more reliable and less expensive, all to the benefit of the consumer.